Closer
by MadoHomu
Summary: "No feelings, just the mission." Homura closed the file of her case and stared up at Kyoko. "No empathy, just apathy. This is the basic rule of a bodyguard." AU
1. Little

_**A/N: For once, another serious work. For CashBanky. BTW, this is AU- Alternate Universe. That means this story have nothing to do with time-travel, witches, soul gem and Madoka' happy family and other crap.**_

_Closer : _Chapter 1

"No feelings, just the mission." Homura closed the file of her new case and stared up at Kyoko. "No empathy, just apathy. This is the basic rule of a bodyguard." AU

* * *

In the cold, dark and empty street, the wind howled loudly as the small, fragile pinkette walked unsteadily. She peered open her bright pink eyes and sighed heavily at the amount of distance she had to cover to reach her home.

Soon, drops of rain fell and it got heavier an heavier. Madoka yelped, helplessly looking around to ind a shelter.

"There should be a bus-stop around here." Madoka thought, and true enough, she found one that is stationed a few yards away. She staggered awkwardly towards the shelter, holding onto her bag above her head to prevent herself from getting much wetter. When she reached the stop, she sighed heavily and fished out a packet of tissue she found in her bag.

"Oh darn it!" She mumbled to herself, wiping her soaked clothes with a piece of tissue she found in her bag. She stared up in the sky, wondering how long would the rain then end before she can go home. It's just another hour to eight and she had to reach home fast...if not...

"I guess you needed this?"

"Eh?" Madoka looked up, staring at the umbrella and then at the person holding onto it.

A lightning struck, followed by a loud thunder as Madoka shivered in fright. The long-haired girl standing in front of her stared at the sky expressionlessly before shoving the umbrella into Madoka's hand. "You seem to be in a hurry."

Madoka slowly clutched around the umbrella, staring skeptically it and realized she couldn't accept the offer. "It's raining and I think it would last for a very long time. You should use it for yourself."

"I don't need it." She said coldly.

"I can manage it too!" Madoka exclaimed.

"There's nothing to worry about." The girl glanced impassively at her, before averting her attention to the sky again. "If you want to get yourself wet by all means, I don't really care."

Madoka observed her for a moment, realizing that their age should probably the same. She had dark violet hair, bright purple eyes. She looked beautiful, in Madoka's opinion. But the thing was, she wasn't smiling, not a bit, which made Madoka felt intimated by the girl. Madoka started to speak. "It's not just about me. But you'll get drenched" Madoka said worriedly.

"I'm used to this." She replied.

"Then...what's your name? So maybe I can give your umbrella back next time." Madoka explained.

The girl gave a second look back at Madoka again before she jogged into the rain.

"Wait!" Madoka yelled.

"It's Homura." Homura claimed

Homura choose to ignore her shouts again and continued her way back home. She could sense Madoka's eyes staring at her back but the feeling disappeared in a while. Homura glanced back, knowing that she's right as the pinkette was already heading to the opposite side of the street.

___"I want you to get close to her and make her trust you. This is the most basic thing. But the thing is, don't let her know you want to be her friend because of your mission. Don't let her know she's in danger. Don't let her know she's being protected..."_

She slightly smirked. "Step one, make a deep impression. Done." Homura mentally ticked off the chart she had in her head and trudged into a building under the heavy rain. Her new home, which was bought for the purpose of the mission in order to get closer to Madoka.

_Little princess, don't you cry.  
I'm here to protect you, my little sunshine_


	2. Princess,

_**A/N: I just want to clarify that Cashbanky and I aren't the same person. I'm more cuter than her FYI. She logged in to my account because she couldn't stand waiting for me to upload and went into my account to see the "teaser" So yeah and I reminded her to log out and she didn't. AND BTW, TO Namae Whammei, in your review; "It's a MadoHomu adventure/romance story! Err, I mean romance/friendship. I guess." YOU SERIOUSLY CRACK ME UP.  
**_

_Closer : _Chapter 2

* * *

It was just another normal day for Madoka.

She came to school in her car and would meet Sayaka and Hitomi by the locker every day without fail. They would start light conversations as they walked back to their own classroom to start the day. Taking down notes, doing math questions, eating lunch, go for P.E and perhaps send one or two students who were feeling unwell to the infirmary. Go home, do some revision and sleep. The whole cycle repeats,

She had no freedom to do whatever she wanted. And even she wanted to, she have to do it in utmost secrecy. It was hell for her. If she had a choice, she don't want this life. She want freedom, even at the cost of the wealth she would get in the future.

Madoka could take yesterday for an example. It was Sunday and Hitomi hosted a birthday party at her house. She was really desperate at that moment. She had never attend any parties organized by anyone she knew before since her father never allows it. But she decided to defy the rule that was strictly given by her father since it was her best_ best_ friend's birthday.

So she collaborate with some of her caretakers and rushed home before dinner started. The plan was a huge success, although she would ultimately fail if she didn't reach home in 36 seconds. Yes, she decided to record the time from now on so she could refer back in the future and make a better plan if she needed to get out of her house in secret.

But it was all thanks to that mysterious girl named Homura. She brought the small folded umbrella today, reminding herself to ask her butler to drive down the street in circles in case she met the girl again.

It was just another boring day for Madoka.

Three days had passed since that incident. And for some weird reason, "Homura" had been in her mind often. She gave several excuses to her butler to drive her down around the town but her attempts to locate the girl was fruitless. Now she was doubting herself if she had really seen that girl or was it all just a hallucination? Madoka tried not to be superstitious to think about the _other_ reason but she couldn't help but to feel scared sometimes when she stared down at the umbrella in her bag.

"Good morning class. I want to introduce your new classmate that would be joining us today." Saotome-sensei looked out of the classroom and gave a signal. The girl acknowledge the command and walked in. Her hair swayed in a particular motion that immediately caught Madoka's attention.

Madoka's eyes widened. It could be! The girl she had been searching for appeared right there infront of her. Her dark violet eyes scanned across the classroom in a bored manner, her face covered with a blank mask. Madoka wanted to scream and wave, asking her if she recognized her but she decided not to. And it was the right choice, of course.

Their eyes met briefly and the pinkette froze. So did she really caught her attention? Madoka pondered.

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" Saotome-sensei asked.

Their eye contact was cut off.

The transfer-student knew it wasn't really a question but a statement as she stepped forward, caressing the hem of her dress and coughed deliberately. "I'm Akemi Homura and nice to meet you." She said dully.

Madoka gasped, attracting Sayaka's attention. Sayaka leaned towards her best friend. "Why are you so shocked?"

"It's nothing. Nothing at all." Madoka gulped. So it was really her, that girl that kindly offered her an umbrella and sacrificed herself instead...

_Little princess, don't be scared.  
__I'm here by your side, taking away all your despair_


	3. I

_Closer : _Chapter 3

* * *

"Please take that empty seat right behind Kaname-san." Saotome-sensei gestured.

Everyone's eyes were on the girl, but Homura didn't care. The sound of her steps echoed in the classroom

She stood right in front of her seat and stared up at Madoka who was looking at her nervously. Homura stared cooly at her, swiftly glancing away and sat down on her seat.

"So what's up?" Sayaka nudged Madoka, giving a weird glances at Homura and then at her friend. "You seem so flustered ever since that new girl came." She continued.

"Eh?" Madoka blinked. "Sorry I didn't heard what you said."

"You really are not yourself, Madoka." Hitomi nodded her head.

"Why is that so?" Madoka rubbed the back of head sheepishly.

"Homura. That girl." Sayaka pointed at the ebony that was sitting alone at her seat, doing absolutely nothing. "You were staring at her the entire time, and also during lessons. If we didn't call you over to sit with us during break time, I bet you'll spend your whole recess staring at her."

"I'm not that creepy!" Madoka blushed.

"Then are you feeling alright?" Hitomi asked gently.

"I'm fine. It's just that I owe her a debt." Madoka whispered.

"Debt? You allowance is twice as much even when Hitomi and I combine our money. How could you be in a debt." Sayaka rolled her eyes.

"It's a long story." Madoka said.

* * *

"Wait up!"

Homura almost stopped on her track, but she knew she had to keep on moving. She's not playing hard to get in a romance way, oh no, but Homura wanted to get Madoka's fullest attention so she can become her friend easily.

___"I want you to get close to her and make her trust you. This is the most basic thing."  
_

___'Basic thing huh...' _Homura frowned. This was in fact the hardest part of the mission. She really suck at making friends. Not because she's being a bitch, but kind of close enough. She didn't know how to express her emotions right to show that she cared for someone as a friend. People always regarded her as cold when she _tried_ not to and tended to avoid her, thinking she was arrogant and stuff.

_"Kyoko, I want to ask you something."_

_"Wow, are you actually trying to start a conversation with me?" Kyoko widened her eyes and snickered._

_Homura held back and didn't roll her eyes, instead, she took out a packet of Pocky and threw it across the table and landed right in the palm of Kyoko's hand. _

_"Is this a bribe? You know you can just ask me anything yeah. It's not like I will threaten you with food or something." Kyoko laughed as she opened the packet of pocket and stuffed two sticks straight into her mouth. "So what's up?"_

_"How do you make friends?" Homura muttered._

_"Is it about your new mission? Laugh out loud man, you seriously don't know how to make friends? You just sling you arm around that person and say 'what's up, let's be friends' and that's it!"_

_"Do you think I'll do that." It wasn't a question but a statement._

_"O.K. Maybe for you, just try to act as cool as you can. Getting her attention silently and indirectly is the easiest way. The person will tend to find you weird at first but she'll get really interested and stuff and will talk to you. Kinda fits your personality since you usually never started a conversation yourself."_

Homura was not sure if it was going to work at first, but she tried it. That night where it was about to rain, she used this opportunity to get Madoka's attention. And then the next few days, she popped into her school and ignored her entirely. And now, Homura seemed to owe Kyoko quite a lot... of food.

"Homura-chan! Please wait!"

She decided not to ignore any further since Madoka may give up running. So she stopped on her heels and turned, her hair whirled as she combed her hair through her fingers. "May I help you." She dryly said, staring impassively at Madoka who finally caught up with her.

"Y-Your umbrella." Madoka lifted the umbrella in her hand and laughed embarrassedly. "It's probably dark that night, or because it was days ago, or maybe I wasn't important to you, that's why you didn't seem to recognize me something. But you lent me your umbrella on that rainy night and let yourself walked under the rain."

"Oh." Homura's mouth turned to a shape of an O and took the umbrella, stuffing it mindlessly into her bag. They then stood awkwardly in the middle of the school without saying anymore word.

"I guess I'm going." Homura started first and turned.

"Wait up!" Madoka called. Homura glanced back a little. "Tomorrow, there's Physical Education and both of my friends were partnered up. I was wondering if I can partner you."

"Isn't that a bit early to tell me." Homura raised an eyebrow.

Madoka's face flushed red. "Since you seem so cool I'm afraid others would kinda_ booked_ you. It's fine if you don't w-"

"Sure, let's partner. It's my first lesson for sports so help me out if you will." Homura drawled before continuing walking away.

Homura knew that Madoka was actually skipping away to somewhere no one knows as she looked back a little and smirked.

* * *

A/N:

WELL AT LEAST IT'S THE END OF TEH WEEK! I KNOW I'M WAY PAST UPDATING TIME BUT I AM A GIRL YOU KNOW.  
AND UM NO CASHBANKY, NO UPDATES FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS AND I LIKE GIVING VERY SHORT CHAPTERS TO MAKER YOU SUFFER


	4. will

Closer

* * *

"Alright stand beside your partner now and get into your position with the eqipments."

Madoka strained her neck, looking right and left and wondering where could her partner be. She actually noticed that Homura didn't even look interested in today's lesson and thought that maybe she had left for the infirmary to skip today's P.E. Bitting her lips, Madoka sighed, intending to sit at a corner since she knew she would be the odd one out.

Today would definately be fun! Madoka thought right after she left school yesterday. In fact, she even told Hitomi and Sayaka if they could pair themselves up since she wanted to give this lesson a shot and use this chance to be friends with Homura. It's really bad to lie to Homura about the fact that she didn't have a partner when Hitomi and Sayaka were actually debating who Madoka should partner with, but...

Madoka let out a breathe and trudged towards the lonely corner. She didn't know why but she really wanted to make friends with Homura! That girl sure gave her a weird feeling that she couldn't describe. A feeling which Madoka had to find out for herself in order for her to be in peace. Well, maybe during lunch time, she could-

"Where are you going?"

Madoka widened her eyes and turned, blinking a few times before she started blushing for who know what reason.

"Homura-chan!"

Homura quirked an eyebrow, not actually understanding why she seemed so... happy. But that wasn't important. Homura had went to check every single racket that were given to the students and noted the one she had picked was probably the safest to use. She had been through a lot of missions and she knew that even a normal racket could be a deadly weapon. If someone have the intention to hurt Madoka, her client, she had to prevent everything that could pose as a weapon to hurt or even kill her.

_"It's just a friggin' camera I don't understand why you make such a big fuss about it." Kyoko laughed and set her popcorn aside. "You know, that's why you have so little friends. You're just really weird."_

_"My mission is to protect her, so I have to use all means to prevent her from any source of danger." Homura said coldly._

_"She just want to help to take a photograph for her seniors, you don't have to destroy that camera. You just made a fool out of yourself and your client, no wonder boss would ask someone to take over your mission." Kyoko placed her hand on Homura's tense shoulder._

_"Four years ago, the 6th most dangerous terrorist planted a bomb in a camera that would spark off and ignite a fire once flash is used. A cameraman then used that camera to take a picture of one of our most important client we had and looked what happened." Homura snorted, shrugging Kyoko's hand away as she reached for the popcorn, their attention on the movie before them was long gone._

_"Alright, master of perfectness. I'm just telling you though, being too protective would only result your client to avoid you and be afraid of you. I've seen quite a number of cases which made the boss very displease with the subordinates when they kept making this mistakes all the time and ended up firing them. I don't want you to be the next." Kyoko hung her arm around Homura, much to her annoyance. "After all, you're the most kawaii colleague I ever met, ya' know?"_

Homura blinked, and her grip around the racket tightened as she recalled what Kyoko had warned her about. But old habits die hard and she ended up doing it again. Homura smug. She glanced up at Madoka who was approaching her with that huge smile on her face.

"You already got the equipments! That's nice!"

"Yeah. Here yours, Madoka."

Madoka reached out for her racket when she stopped and slowly stared at Homura with a surprised look. Homura didn't realize what was wrong until she remembered what she said.

"Pardon me. It was a slip of my tongue, Kaname-san."

"No no!" Madoka almost yelled and suddenly her cheeks turned red, very red. "I mean I'm fine with you calling me Madoka. Actually I really want you to call me that." Madoka then covered her face with both of her tiny hands. "Oh my, I'm so embarrassing! Why do I sound like I'm so desperate?"

Homura didn't know if she should laugh. She glanced around and noted that most of the students were already in their positions. She gently put out her hand and shook Madoka shoulder. "I'll call you Madoka from now on, but we should start playing in our courts now."

* * *

"So, did you make friends with her? That weirdo?" Sayaka bit the tip of her straw.

"She's not a weirdo!" Madoka frowned. "She's really nice actually. Like super nice! She don't allow me to do anything much like picking up the shuttlecock when it landed near my area. The match too, she was playing most of the time though."

"How the hell is that nice, Kaname Madoka? SHe's just stealing all your chances to play! She don't want you to play because she wanted all the credit to herself." Sayaka scoffed.

"It's not like that! Trust me, that feeling is something else. Like she doesn't want me to get hurt..."

"I'm going to side with Sayaka though." Hitomi shook her head.

Madoka sighed. "But it was fun, watching her play. She's really an elite actually! She run really fast and her serves are pretty impressive, she also did quite good with the-"

"Madoka..." Sayaka sighed, placing her drink away. "You've been talking about this Homura girl for the past half an hour, isn't it better if we can talk about our shopping spree this saturday?"

"Alright sorry guys." Madoka said sheepishly. "This saturday where will we be going?"

"I heard there's plenty of great sales at YoYo shopping mall, we should head there first thing in the morning."

.

.

.

"YoYo shopping mall..." Homura started typing vigorously into her laptop, pressing her ears as she listened attentively to Madoka's conversation with her other two friends. Homura must say, that she herself got to be smart sometimes to go with this trick. During lunch, she had _accidentally_ placed a listening device underneath of a keychain that Madoka hung it on her bag. It would be darn difficult for Madoka to find out about it but it would be pretty easy for the device to become loose and dropped out if Madoka started running or dropped her bag heavily. But that problem will be settled next time.

"What's the matter? Looking all focused and stuff."

"Shhh." Homura put a finger to her lips and gave an annoyed look over at Kyoko. The redhead lifted her fist and wanted to knock Homura's head but ended up slumped next to her on the sofa.

"What should we do after shopping?"

"Maybe we should eat seoul garden and stuff ourself with chicken and beef."

In another second, Homura started typing furiously into her laptop. Kyoko just dully watched Homura do all her silly researches as she began to fell asleep.

* * *

"You owe me a favor now." Kyoko crunched her pocky as she started biting another stick. "It was suppose to be my long sweet one month holiday but I'm here helping with your work."

"You're freeloading in my house and I haven't even settle that with you." Homura glanced back with narrowed eyes. "I can't look after three people if anything happens to them."

"What can happen? Like seriously? You're seriously too hardworking ya know. It's Saturday and you should relax on a Saturday!" Kyoko waved her arm exaggeratedly. "If I'm the boss, I don't know if I should fire you because of your perfectness in doing things that end up spoiling the plans or should I not fire you because you are so hardworking."

"I asked you here to keep an eye on them, not to complain." Homura snapped.

"Argh." Kyoko rolled her eyes as she took out a chocolate bar and tore the wrapper, munching on her food angrily.

"Look, something is wrong." Homura nudged Kyoko.

The redhead popped her head out of the pillar and noted two men towering the three girls as they gave a look of disdain.

"Oh, so you think that apologizing and walking away will work, when you bumped into our almighty great leader?!" A thin man growled.

"T-Then what do you want me to do?!" Sayaka tried to shout back but her attempt wasn't going too well.

"I want you three to be my girls for the day." The big-sized man who claimed as the leader grabbed hold of Madoka's wrist while his other hand held onto Sayaka's arm. The thin man snatched Hitomi's arm as the three started struggling.

"Let go of me you pervert!" Sayaka yelled.

"Get away!" Hitomi yelped.

Madoka was about to kick the man's stomach but he was quicker. He pushed Madoka onto the floor, grazing her hand and was about to give a kick when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He turned around in annoyance. "What do you wa-"

A solid punch landed smoothly on his jaw as he literally flew a few feet away before landing on the ground. Sayaka managed to step back but when she was about to trip, her head landed on something... soft...

Sayaka glanced up, in slight embarrassment.

"Yo, it must be comfy down there." Kyoko gave a smirk.

"Homura-chan!" Madoka gasped as the leader struggled to stand up. As he got back to his feet, he gave a snarl and started charging towards Homura but she was even faster than all of them. She grabbed his arm, twist it and lifted him up from the floor. In a second, he ended up not just a huge bruise on his cheeks but also a sore back too.

The thin man let go of Hitomi and was about to run but Kyoko managed to kick one of the shopping bag infront of the m,an and tripped him, having him landed flat on his face. Apparently, he fainted.

Just when they thought it was over, a group of men started running towards them, with fists over their heads. Knowing they were in deep shit, Kyoko and Homura gave a nod and made a dash.

Homura took Madoka from the floor and both started running while Kyoko grabbed hold of Hitomi and Sayaka and sprinted to another direction.

* * *

A.N: CAUSE CASHBANKY IS NICE TODAY AND I POURED MYSELF WITH LOVE. OHKAY I THINK THIS CHAPTER SUCKS BUT ALL I WANT IS TO TELL MYSELF TO BE STRON G AND LEAVE THE BURTDEN TO THE LIFE OFG ME OHKAY BYE.


	5. protect

Closer

* * *

She was thankful, to herself, for being so caution and a perfectionist. Homura actually thought that maybe Kyoko was right for once, maybe she need to take things easy.

But if Homura didn't followed Madoka for the shopping spree, the unthinkable could have happened. This incident probably could keep the redhead's mouth shut for several days.

They continued running and running, jumping over road blocks and sprinting across the streets, it was something Homura was trained for, but definitely not Madoka. Homura finally slowed down when she noted the girl she was holding onto was running slower and slower and ended up stopping in the middle of the pavement. Homura wanted to urged her to continue running, but after realizing that the men weren't running after them anymore, she halted as well.

When Homura regained her composure, she realized they're both in a park. With a few young adults jogging, a couple of family walking their dogs and a few kids playing with their kite. She felt relaxed for a sudden, until she noticed her hand were still grabbing onto Madoka then she abruptly let go of the contact and stepped away, watching Madoka silently catching her breathe.

Madoka straightened her back, and gave a thumbs up. "You're really good at sports!" She huffed and smiled.

Homura wasn't sure how to react.

Madoka's feet started walking on its own as she made her way to a bench and slumped onto her seat. Homura followed suit and they sat down for a while before Madoka started to speak again.

"I don't know about you, but this is the best shopping spree ever!" Madoka laughed. "To be honest, my father is overseas and would be currently back today evening so I took this opportunity to slip out to buy some clothes. Who knew that this would happen?!"

Homura gave a glance. Of course she knew, and her father knew too... about her sneaky adventures. That was the reason why Madoka's father hired a bodyguard since he knew it was hard to control their daughter's daily movement and locking her in the room seemed to be useless already. Hiring an under-covered bodyguard means she could monitor their daughter, ensuring that she was safe if she actually disobeyed the rules and sneaked out.

"Thank you anyway."

Homura's thoughts snapped as she turned her head towards Madoka. This was her job actually, and she's being paid to do so, so she didn't really needed to be thanked but of course she kept her mouth shut. All she did was to nod and stood up, jabbing her thumb to the nearest taxi-stand. "Wanna go?"

Madoka gave a sheepish smile and nodded. She was about to lift herself from her seat when she winced in pain as she grabbed onto her injured wrist. Homura immediately scurried to Madoka's side and inspect her wounds. It seemed to be bleeding for a while since the blood had already dried. Darn it, why didn't she noticed that?! She must have got the wound when the men pushed her to the ground.

"I'll get some medicines, you should stay here." Homura bit her lips, cursing herself for letting Madoka to be hurt.

"It's fine, I can go home and clean it up." Madoka gave an awkward smile, not really understanding why Homura was making such a big fuss about this wound. She had even worse injuries before, like spraining her knee when she wanted to escape her house through her room window.

"No, that won't do. If the wound is exposed any longer, it might get infected and turned out worse. Just stay here." Homura pat onto Madoka's back. "There should be a bike rental store here that supplies first-aid." She turned and began running.

Madoka stared in amazement, watching Homura's back in awe. She didn't know why but her heart suddenly skipped a beat. It's normal for someone to care about her this way, and it's normal for Homura to care about anyone this way too. But Madoka just didn't know why was she so...so... happy... as if this was a blessing in disguise.

She stared down at her wound. _Blessing in disguise_... The words struck her for a moment and her chest cringed a little. It was weird. Definitely weird. Madoka looked up and stared at the sky. She knew it, _that something_ that had been bothering her for a while. She just couldn't seem to find a perfect word for it...

"Here, give me your hand."

Madoka blinked as she felt her hand gently being placed on Homura's lap. She seemed to have transformed from her sporty-self to a doctor-self as she skillfully bandaged her hand carefully after applying some medicines. Madoka stared at Homura for a while until she looked up and they made eye contact.

Her cheeks went pink.

"Are you alright, Madoka-san." Homura frowned worriedly and pushed away Madoka's hair from her forehead, carefully leaning her own forehead on hers. Madoka turned even redder and smoke were coming out from her ears, her mouth opening and closing just like a sick goldfish.

"No. you don't seemed to have a fever but your face sure is red. Perhaps the sun is too strong." Homura said to herself as she looked up at the sky with no cloud cover and realized that geography is useful for once wow.

"Pe-Perhaps." Madoka mumbled, bowing her head and staring at the floor as it was made of gold.

Homura looked down, staring curiously at the girl who seemed to be embarrassed about something. Her lips slowly curled up as she watched her for a few more seconds, before thinking about how Kyoko was doing with the other two girls.

* * *

"Wow that's so uncool." Kyoko picked up a handful of fries and squashed them into her mouth before sipping onto her coke. "It must be really mean of her right?"

"We thought it was mean but Madoka... she thought it was cool." Sayaka shrugged and ate her burger. "During these few weeks since Akemi-san came to our school, Madoka took a huge interest on her and wanted to be all nice and make friends with her. I have no idea what poison did she give her to make her like this but there's no way I'm still going to let Madoka to be taken away by Akemi-san."

"To be honest, I have no grudge on Akemi-san but she's just acting a bit...cold. It's just hard to talk to her for some reason." Hitomi sighed.

"True true. On the first day I met here, she was so cold even after I tried to break the ice-" Kyoko paused, hoping the other two would understand her joke but she continued when there wasn't a reaction given. "-but she's actually a nice girl deep down in her heart. She have this emotion-control problem that I think only Kami will know who is suitable to make her smile for once."

"You really do know her well, don't you?" Sayaka leaned towards Kyoko as the redhead blinked. "Tell me the real reason why Akemi-san is trying to get close with Madoka."

"Er, you asked me that question for like the sixth time and I already said if I know the answer I would have told you long time ago ya'know!" Kyoko dragged her seat away from Sayaka.

Sayaka eyed Kyoko warily and scoffed, picking up some fries to chew.

Kyoko gulped. _That blue-haired girl sure is careful and skeptical. She must be suspecting Homura to be up to something from the start already... Of course, with her being so protective, her actions may seemed weird for the people around the client and they would realize something is amiss._

The redhead leaned forward, giving and inward sigh. She didn't feel like eating all of a sudden, which could only prove that troubles's brewing ahead.

* * *

"Sayaka, I knew she doesn't like me all along."

Kyoko sighed, watching Homura continuously changing channel on the TV.

"But I don't care."

Kyoko sighed again. "This isn't about you caring a not. You're just going to make it not just difficult for yourself, but for Madoka too. If Sayaka make use of the friendship she had with Madoka originally and wanted Madoka to end her contact with you forever, she can do it ya' know."

"If that's the case, I'll eliminate Sayaka from Madoka's life because she deserves better."

Kyoko face-palmed. "ERM HELLO? You're now trying to protect her from safety and harm, not to get rid of people that doesn't meant harm to Madoka."

"That Miki Sayaka is-"

"Akemi Homura!"

Homura almost jolted from her seat. Almost.

Kyoko cleared her throat. "True, to even start your mission, you have to make a good impression on her, which you succeeded. The next step is to be close and become her friend, which you have completed without any sweat since Madoka is the one wanting to be friends with you." The redhead narrowed her eyes. "But you're going overboard, on this part."

Homura frowned.

"Friends. That's it. Just. Friends. There's no need for you to become a very good friend, a best friend or even a lover to complete your mission!" Kyoko yelled.

Homura almost blushed. Almost. Thanks to the light from the television screen it helped her to camouflage a little. But Homura snapped. "What do you mean by lovers can you stop-"

"I mean it, Homura." Kyoko snapped back. "You're just going to ruin the mission if you end up falling in love with her."

"As I said-"

"You're just going to hurt yourself, regardless the outcome of the mission. If you succeed, your connection with her are to be cut off. If you failed to protect her, you'll just end up blaming yourself even harder." Kyoko looked away, her lips quivered. "And maybe not just yourself, if she ended up liking you too... can you imagine how devastated if she realize you're a 'friend' to her because this is what you SHOULD do?"

Homura widened her eyes slightly. It was rare to see Kyoko like this, heck she never seen Kyoko being like this before.

Homura lifted the remote and switched off the television. Silently she picked up Madoka's file that she had been reading and adding informations all day all night. She looked through it for a while until her words broke the silence.

"No feelings, just the mission." Homura then closed the document file.

Kyoko raised her head and slowly turned to look at her.

"No empathy, just apathy."

Kyoko bit her lips. She cast a sad look at Homura, noticing how the side of her dark long hair were covering her face, as if she was covering her feelings that were already bottled up from the start.

"Homura-"

"This is the basic rule of a bodyguard."

* * *

A.N: THIS IS PLAINLY MIRACLE THAT I UPDATED SO FAST BUT I WANNA DEDICATE THIS FIC TO CASHBANKY CAUSE SHE WAITED WITH ME OUTSIDE THE PIANO ROOM FOR 29 HOURS WHEN SHE CAN STAY AT HOME AT AND POLE DANCE. I ALSO WANT TO DEDICATE THIS STORY TO MY DEDICATED REVIEWERES WHO DEDICATELY STAYED WITH ME AND DEDICATELY REVIEWED MY STORY AND DEDDIECATEYLY LOVE ME AND DIEDIATCALTE SO KIND TO STILL READ THIS STORY OK I DIDECAT YOU.

PS: TO NONSPECIFIC, THANKS FOR POINTING OUT MY MISTAKES! :)


	6. you

Closer

* * *

"Hello Homura-chan!"

That sound, that sweet young voice echoed in Homura's ears as she tried to stop herself from looking up but she just couldn't take it. Homura glanced up, watching the bubbly girl skipping towards her. She noticed the bandage on her hand wasn't there anymore.

"Hey." Homura muttered, trying to resist herself from saying anymore. She wanted to continue the conversation badly, like asking how was her hand but she forced herself not to. It's better like this.

Madoka frowned, immediately noticing how weird Homura was acting. SHe wanted to ask, to give her a pat on the shoulder, to smile at her, to give her a comforting hug, but she couldn't do anything. They continued walking down the hallway in silence until they entered their classroom, separating themselves and trudging to their seats.

Because this mission had become a heavy responsibility for her, Homura was forced to go to school just to keep watch on Madoka. She had to do it, to be by her side when she was dreading to meet Madoka for the rest of the day.

_I got to stop lying to myself._ Homura smirked bitterly, slumping down on her seat and taking out her notes. _I want to see her so badly everyday... but I can't continue like this. This mission will end... will end once he is captured..._

* * *

A month had passed.

The mission still wasn't completed.

Homura wasn't sure if she should be glad that everything wasn't over, or the dangers that Madoka was still facing. She didn't know what to do now. Kyoko's words were still attached to her and she couldn't forget them. But the redhead, she had been back to her usual old self even after all that emotional talk, although it wasn't surprising for Homura either.

Madoka...

She couldn't avoid her, since her mission was to protect her. Being to close to her was too risky too. She always felt herself falling again and again... falling in lov- but no. She couldn't and never will.

Homura thought the only problem was just herself but she never knew Kyoko would be correct, at all. Madoka seemed to have also _fallen_ into this crazy thing called love and it's impossible to go back now.

Madoka called her up when it was nearing the end of lunch break that day. They stood along the corridor, watching as a couple of people walked by. They just stared at each other in silence until Madoka finally mustered all her courage to say what she wanted to say.

"I like you. I really like you!"

_'No... please, no...'_

""I like you! That first time I met you, I just felt different!" Madoka spat.

_'Why...dear Kami...why...?!'_

The silence seemed to have answered Madoka's confession and tears started rolling down her porcelain cheeks. She quickly wiped her tears but it kept flowing like tap water. "I thought that maybe you felt special too, that maybe we can at least be together! I-I guess I was just delusional and hopeful for nothing..."

Homura widened her eyes as her lips parted and the first word finally left her mouth.

"No..."

Madoka's heart just shattered into pieces.

"I thought I understand you the best. And we enjoyed the times we've always been together, for the past few months..." Madoka lowered her gaze. "I'm so stupid!" She wailed before running away.

"Wait Madoka!" Homura tripped for the first time of her life and caught her balance when she flailed her arms a little. She watched the girl ran across the corridor and down the stairs.

"You're not stupid... You're not delusional or being hopeful for nothing." Homura whispered. "You are the only one in this world that helped me experience so many things..." Homura took a deep breathe and started running towards the stairs.

_You made me smile like the sun, fall outta bed, sing like a fool, dizzy in the head.  
Spin like a record and crazy on a Sunday Night..._

Homura was literally jumping down the stairs, trying hard to catch up with Madoka who seemed to have run out of the school. She knew it's a taboo to put feelings into mission, not to mention falling for her client. She could have got fired, but she didn't care. Maybe for once, she can enjoy the feeling of going to school like a normal student and falling in love like a normal girl.

_You made me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe, shine like a gold, buzz like a bee.  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild..._

"Madoka!"

Homura ignored the weird stares and glances from some students as she ran past them. Who cares? She's only living with this life once and hell, she's going to live it right.

_Ohhhhh~ You make me smile!_

"Madoka!" Homura called out at a distance.

The girl didn't stopped her walking. But only after a few steps, she halted on her tracks, her shoulder slumped and both her hands turned into two tiny fists.

_'At least she stopped._ _She's willing to listen'._ Homura gave a small smile as she took a step forward, but then she knew something was amiss. Homura frowned and started running towards Madoka when a large presence dashed out from the side of the streets and grabbed hold of Madoka.

Homura gasped and her eyes almost popped out if that was possible. She was about to race forward when the man that appeared held up the gun in his hand and jabbed it right into Madoka's forehead.

"You might want to stop this, young lady." The man smirked.

Madoka's entire body was trembling.

_'The man must have pointed the gun at her at the alley when she was just passing by over there to make her stop.' _Homura sighed inwardly, trying to regain her composure as quickly as she could. That man... was the man she was hired to finish off.

_"Yaya Papaya." Homura spoke, looking at a small ID photo of a bald and nasty man._

_"This is the man that have a grudge on the Kaname family for a year and had been wanted by the police ever since he murdered one of the butler eight months ago." The boss then give another file and Homura accepted it in silence._

_Homura opened the folder and stared at an ID photo of a pink-haired girl. "Kaname Madoka." Homura said smoothly as if she was already familiar with her for the longest time._

_"This is the Kaname's only daughter. Kaname Madoka. Her life have been put into danger since it had been hinted that Yaya Papaya's aim was to kill or at least harm Kaname Madoka. But she refused any police protection and wanted freedom from her father that he couldn't control her anymore."_

_Homura knew roughly the purpose of the mission already as she nodded. "To be Kaname Madoka's bodyguard and protect her until the criminal have been arrested. Understood that sir."_

_The boss nodded calmly. "Although I'm not entirely happy with your last mission about displeasing the client and being too over-obsessed with completing the mission, I know you can do this well. This man is dangerous and I know that only you, other than that lazy redhead, could handle him."_

_Homura smiled in politeness and bowed. "Do not worry, sir. The mission will be a success. 100%"_

Homura clicked her tongue. She wasn't expecting this. Out of the 365 days in the year, the wanted man just have to appeared today to kidnap Madoka. Great. Just great.

And she wasn't excatly 100% sure if she can save Madoka and bring the man to justice. She wasn't prepared. Homura was only 43% sure she could do both of what she must do.

Yaya Papaya glanced around, knowing well that there wasn't a single soul down the street. It's still school and working hours and there's no one Homura could turn to help or at least cooperate with her to make this mission a 100% success. She have her phone with her, but there's no way she had the time and chance to call Kyoko over right at the moment. She had no choice but to abide to what the man wanted to do.

"Back off." He bawled.

Homura nodded slowly, and took a few steps back. She looked at Madoka.

She was extremely terrified. She was about to cry. She was...

Homura clutched her fist till her knuckles turned white. She didn't want Madoka to suffer like this. Homura thought that she could apprehend the criminal without him laying a finger on Madoka but she failed due to her carelessness and how she seemed to relax a little when Yaya didn't appeared for so long.

Yaya slowly crossed the empty street, and opened one of the door in the van. He pushed Madoka in and pointed the gun at her, ordering her to sit at the other seat. He then jumped in and took a glance back at Homura before he started to car and drove off.

There wasn't a time to waste. Homura flipped up her short skirt without any hesitation and took our a small gun she kept strapped onto one of her thighs. She knew who she was dealing with and a gun was definitely needed, just like right now.

Homura closed one of her eyes and aimed carefully at one of the tires. She shoot and in a second, the van started driving in a zic-zac motion, giving Homura the chance to catch up with the car as it was starting to slow down.

She smirked when the man got off the car, desperately looking around again. At least Yaya couldn't escape far right now, at least not that fast with a hostage that he couldn't let go.

"Damn you, bitch. How the hell you got the gun?!"

Homura glared, pointing the gun right at the both of them. "It's none of your concern. Though I suggest you to surrender yourself."

"Shut up!"

"H-Homura..." Madoka whimpered, watching Homura with the gun and thousands of thoughts, weird moments and Sayaka's warnings flashed across her mind. Her pink eyes widened, seeming to finally get what was going on... and the truth...

He started dragging Madoka away, and then into an alley. They kept moving, slowly, but Homura was still following closely without battling an eyelid.

When he finally reached the dead end, he let out a loud growl and snapped. "Put the gun down!"

Homura kept silent.

"I said put down the gun!"

Madoka winced, the arm slowly tightening around her neck. It was hard to breathe when she was forced to tiptoe just to be the same height as her kidnapper. She started chocking before staring wearily at Homura.

"D-Don't L-Li-Listen to him... R-Run a-away H-Homura..."

Homura bit her lips and screamed, for the first time so desperate in her life. "Like hell I will Madoka! What do you take me for?! I won't leave you behind!"

"I'll count to three, if you don't put down the gun, I will shoot right through her head." The man yelled through clenched teeth. He jabbed the pistol further into Madoka' temple as she winced again.

Homura closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. She opened them again and give a glare before a smile.

She fired the gun.

* * *

_Lyrics belonged to Smile - Uncle Kracker_

AN: THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY.

OKAY I GOT TO ADMIT I'M LAZY TO WRITE SOME PARTS BUT BECAUSE CASHBANKY'S BEEN UPSET ABOUT A VIDEO OF HER LOVER BEING BETRAYED SHE CRIED AND I DECIDED TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER LIKE AGAIN BY TODAY WOW I REALLY CANT BELIEVE IT I'M UPDATING AGAIN TRUST ME I CAN GO ON HIATUS FOR LIKE 4 MONTHS BUT I'M HERE SO CASHBANKY DUN BE SAD ANYMORE OR YOU'RE DEAD

AND LOL KYOKO AND HER "FRIENDS" THANKS FOR POINTING THAT OUT MY DEAR REVIEWERS I LUB U


	7. forever

Closer

* * *

_"Madoka, you'll be alright."_

_"I'll protect you, don't worry."_

Madoka could smell the scent of medicines suddenly as she forced herself to peel her eyes open. She saw white first, then the colour green, red and blue appeared out of no where. She blinked a few times, and she steadily hear familiar voices in her ears.

"Madoka! You're awake!"

"We're so worried!"

Hitomi adjusted the bed and Madoka comfortably sat up, glancing around. Sayaka, Hitomi were in the ward, along with the redhead she saw at the mall that day. She blinked before cracking her lips to speak.

"Why am I in the hospital?" Madoka said hoarsely.

"We don't know either." Sayaka eyes Kyoko suspiciously as the redhead shrugged. "Kyoko called me that you're here so Hitomi and I rushed over."

"My dad..." Madoka widened her eyes.

"Don't worry, only some of your caretakers know. Your dad was un-contactable anyway, probably in a meeting like always." Hitomi gave a pat on Madoka's shoulder. "It seemed that you're fine, some bruises and scratches only..."

The voices faded and Madoka started to block everyone out. She stared quietly at her feet under the white sheet before lowering her gaze. All she remembered was that Homura fired the gun, but she couldn't seem to recollect anything else. Madoka sadly looked up at Sayaka who seemed to be reprimanding Kyoko about something while the redhead was arguing back too.

_'Sayaka is right. Homura... She...' _Madoka bit her lips, trying to hold back the tears that are forming in her eyes.

Madoka's chest cringed, just thinking of the mysterious girl that protected her every single day make her heart shattered into pieces. Just when she thought Homura wasn't what Sayaka claimed to be; suspicious, a person with motives up her sleeves, this had to happen to crush all her hope.

"Now that I wonder." Sayaka crossed her arms and stared at the door of the ward. "Akemi didn't seemed to be by Madoka's side for once."

Madoka tensed.

Kyoko glanced at Madoka before rebutting. "You complained that you don't like her around, now you're wondering why she isn't around. What do you want then?"

Hitomi raised both of her hands and tried to calm down the fight, but to no avail. But at that moment, Madoka didn't seem to care anymore. She's tired, since so many things happened today. The failed confession, the realization...

Madoka gave a sidelong glance at the door. Even though she didn't want to see Homura right now, in her heart, she hoped that the door would just slide open to reveal that stoic girl she loved for ages.

* * *

"So..."

Homura opened the can of coke as she took a sip, leaning tiredly on the wall outside the hospital. "The criminal's caught. My duty is over."

"The boss even have to go down to close the case for you too. Ya' know, you always give him a heap of trouble every time." Kyoko took the can and drank it before Homura could take another sip.

"You cant expect me to call the police with the gun in my hand. Calling the boss is my only option." Homura scoffed.

"That problems aside. Why didn't you followed Madoka to the hospital? That Sayaka always have so much questions to ask every single time and it's really troublesome ya know." Kyoko returned the coke.

Homura lowered her gaze, taking the drink from Kyoko and left it to sizzle. "It took my entire nerve system to force myself not to board the ambulance with Madoka." She muttered.

Kyoko sighed, ging a few pats on Homura's stiff shoulder. "Alright, lets head home and pack up our things. That rent fee is almost overdue, luckily you finished the mission in time. It's time to head back to the headquarters."

Homura chugged down the entire coke in one go, throwing it smoothly into a trash can nearby. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before glancing back at Kyoko. "You head home first. And do me a favor and helped me with the luggage. I'll go to the bathroom for a while."

"Toilet?" Kyoko snickered softly to herself as she watched Homura disappear after entering the hospital. The redhead stuffed both of her hands in her tight shorts before trudging off.

* * *

It was suppose to be way past visiting hours. But Homura slipped past the counter easily and swiftly walked towards Madoka's ward. She peeped through the small clear window and noticed Madoka was soundly asleep, just like what Homura was hoping for.

She slided the door open and quietly tiptoed into the room before closing the door behind her. Slowly, she approached the bed in a careful motion not to knock down any things and sighed inwardly after managing to sit down on the chair beside Madoka.

Homura stared at the sleeping figure, watching with a small smile. She then noted Madoka's hand at the side of the bed and her own hands lifted themselves up and attempted to held Madoka's hand. BUt she stopped herself just in time before she touched Madoka. Her hands curled up into a ball of fist and she retreated it back to her lap.

Her eyes averted to Madoka's face and her lips quivered a little.

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have lied to you, for so long." Homura whispered. "But I have to."

There was just silence.

Homura sighed before continuing. "You might not believe me, the truth is., I'm not protecting you because of my job. I'm protecting you... because I want to."

_Because I love you._

"Madoka..." Homura slowly cupped her mouth and closed her eyes before standing up quietly. She stared at Madoka for the last time and bowed before leaving.

"Farewell."

As the door closed once again, a small tear run down the side of Madoka's cheek. She opened her eyes and slowly lift herself up from her bed.

She started weeping.

* * *

_a year later._

Madoka sighed, watching the heavy downpour under the empty busstop shelter. She knew she shouldn't trust the weather teelcast anymore, they're wrong thrice in ten broadcast everytime.

She sat down on the bench and swatted her skirt, trying to brush off the raindrops when she was running so desperately to find shelter a while ago. Today was definitely a bad day for her. Both Sayaka and Hitomi had went out with their dates for some romantic dinner and movie, and both of them forgot their outing they planned for today and she ended up going home now after waiting for around half an hour.

Madoka sighed, again. Soon, it would be their graduation and they'll be going to high schools. A new start, new friends. Madoka wasn't really looking forward to that. Her studies were so-so and her jokes were often childish and lame, no one would want to be her friend.

She stared up at the dark grey sky, estimating the rain wouldn't stop even after half an hour. But well, it isn't that bad. Her weather is chilly and it's quite nice to watch the rain goes pitter patter too.

Her mind slowly drifted off as she swing her legs, and rock her body, softly singing out a tune she made up. She was so distracted by the rain that she didn't noticed several other people were under the same shelter as her too. But no one minded her as well.

"I would love to lend you my umbrella, but it seemed that you don't really need it at the moment."

Madoka blinked and lifted her head up.

A lightning struck, followed by a loud thunder as Madoka shivered in fright. The long-haired girl standing in front of her stared at the sky expressionlessly before waving the umbrella in her hand. "You don't seem to be in a hurry anyway."

The pinkette's eyes widened as her mouth opened and close like a sick goldfish. How long has it been?

"Homura..."

_"Let's restart our meeting, shall we?"_

**_end_**

_"Please don't end up falling for a mission. Homura quitted, so please."_

_"I get it already, sir. You said it every time."_

_"I don't know, there's just a feeling that you'll leave soon too."_

_._

"You always eat the same slice of cake."

"Eh?"

"Hi, the name's Kyoko, can I join you?

"Sure. My name is Mami, please to meet you."

**_really?_**

* * *

A/N: WOW THIS IS SO CLICHE  
OHKAY BYE AND REALLY, ITS THE END SO NO MORE AND CASSHBANKY PLEASE LIEK SMILE NOW DUN CRY FOR YOU PILLOW AND HOMURA ANYMORE.


End file.
